NEA pumps P2.8B into ECs amid modernization push

The National Electrification Administration (NEA) disbursed P2.8 billion in state-funded loans for electric cooperatives (ECs) in 2025, up 56 percent from P1.8 billion in 2024—a significant boost in power distribution projects and operations nationwide.

In a report released on Wednesday, NEA’s Accounts Management and Guarantee Department (NEA-AMGD) said the loans benefited at least 45 ECs during the year. 

The bulk of the financing—P1.7 billion—was allocated to capital expenditure projects across 34 ECs, including 15 in Luzon, eight in the Visayas, and 11 in Mindanao.

The NEA-AMGD likewise processed P956 million in working capital loans for 11 ECs serving electricity consumers in Albay, Cagayan de Sulu, Camarines Sur, Cotabato, Negros Oriental, Northern Negros, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Sultan Kudarat, and Tarlac. 

As part of its climate resilience efforts, the agency also extended P142.4 million in calamity loans to rehabilitate power infrastructure damaged by Super Typhoon Odette in 2021, including the Janopol Mini-Hydro Power Plant in Bohol under Bohol Electric Cooperative 1 and distribution lines operated by Surigao del Norte Electric Cooperative. 

This year, NEA said it will continue to provide financial assistance through its enhanced lending program to ensure that partner cooperatives can maintain operations and deliver uninterrupted service to their member-consumer-owners.

NEA’s loan facility remains a key lifeline for 121 ECs nationwide—its implementing arm in the government’s drive for total electrification—many of which lack access to commercial financing due to credit constraints and disaster risks.

Beyond financial support, the agency said it is accelerating rural electrification with two years left in the administration, focusing on last-mile connections, system upgrades, and improving power reliability. 

“We need to make our services reliable. That’s all that really matters… And that is one thing I want to inculcate in each and everyone. Let’s shift the paradigm already. We cannot keep doing what is good enough,” NEA Administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda said.

To recall, its initiatives last year included rolling out solar systems for remote schools, reforming operations at Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative, modernizing distribution networks in Palawan and Mindoro, commissioning new power plants in Siquijor, and deploying lineworkers to assist cooperatives affected by typhoons.